crack on the wall
by rosenknoppen
Summary: Even the toughest of walls would crack in time.


**001.**

"Now let's begin the battle for each other's scrolls... with our lives on the line..."

The fear that gripped his body made his stomach coil uneasily, and he heaved it's contents to the ground. His back bent over the force of the action, as all his limbs tried to support his trembling body. He could only still see black and red everywhere around him, with only spots of green of the moss covering the trees, and the brown of the bare earth.

'_Genjutsu...?!_'

He sat himself up, his head —ringing and seeming hollow— attempting to shake away the fear that had solidified his form, leaving only quakes like that of a struck cord of a shamisen. Sweat dewed the back of his neck and his face, and his heart was hammering loud against his ears and chest. He stared cautiously at the Grass ninja, anticipating an opportune offense from him while their bodies were still held immobile by fear, as wild mice's would before the penetrating gaze of a snake.

'_No... this is just intense fear. The killing intent in his eyes is causing us to see an image of death._'

The sound of a soft, wavering whimper diverted his flow of thoughts to the person beside him. He managed to part his lips a bit, force himself to work his throat to whisper his teammate's name. "Sakura..."

She was, like him, shaking uncontrollably in fear, unmoving except for the constant racks of shivers that travelled her form. Tears flowed down freely from her unblinking eyes, her fingers digging the soft soil beneath them.

He heard the Grass ninja chuckle, saw him shifting his position minutely. "You can no longer move..."

Gritting his teeth together, Sasuke compelled his hand to prove the statement wrong, numbly gripping the kunai he barely managed to take out of the holster and coaxing his disobeying arm to lower down. He knew that the tip of the scale was lowered in favour of the Grass ninja, that the only two options left were to flee or die. The latter was not part of his plans.

'_Just a little bit more!'_

He only had seconds to apprehend the enemy's swift flicking of the wrist and the two kunais tearing through the air, aimed at both their heads just like the vivid retention that had held them frozen only moments ago. His right thigh fumed with pain, as if fire was viciously gnawing at it, and adrenaline flowed down his body like water from opened flood gates. He swung his head to the side, the sudden momentum causing his Sharingan to activate, and he spun around with his arms outstretched, seeing nothing but the crying girl and the kunai that was trained at her. His chest slammed against her body, his hands digging on her skin as he quickly leaped to the nearest tree, the projectile entirely missing its target.

They were only a streak of black in the midst of the immense branches of trees he was hastily weaving through. The loud hammering of his heart thundered on his ears, and it stood out in the eerie silence like a brush of white against black. He kept his gaze straight ahead, looking down at the girl on his arms once in a while.

Her warmth departed her body in soft waves, mingling with his form that was beaded with cold sweat. It soothed the untamed pounding of his heart, and his shoulders rolled forward, relaxing, her face digging deeper to the crook of his neck. Her faint intakes of breath ghosted over the skin of his throat, settling the turbulent rush of adrenaline in his system. The sight of her pastel skin, void of the blood his fear had bestowed him not too long ago, washed away the crimson of his irises, amending them back to deep ink black.

He felt her fingers enclose themselves on his shirt, her tiny fist ghostly white and still unsteady. "S-Sasuke-kun...," she called, as if unsure, her petite body curling in. Even without a glance he could tell the tears had yet to stop from falling, and her body had yet to cease its tremor.

His hold on her tightened in response, crushing her body to his in an act of assurance. Her eyes were still sealed tight, her lips parted in a silent scream, as though she was forced to relieve the nightmare again and again.

"I-I thought—" her voice cracked, a strong convulsion lopping her sentence, and she wounded her arms around his neck, her eyes spilling out another round of tears that stained his dark blue shirt once more.

"Shhh, everything will be alright," the words flowed out of his mouth without his control. It tasted of unfamiliarity, and it sounded awkward —uncomfortable— to him.

Despite the uncertainty fogging the sentence, he made sure to keep his promise and swore it to himself silently. He clamped her body more firmly against his, an act he could only describe as protective. But it did not matter.

For Sasuke, what counted the most at the moment was that they were both safe, and the girl he was cradling in his arms was unscathed.

❧**.crack on the wall**


End file.
